A. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to an improved woodwind mouthpiece for an instrument, such as clarinet, that provides an improved sound, response, and feel. The mouthpiece has several new features including geometry changes that allow for a steeper facing angle that is not in excess of 4 degrees, a less obtuse relationship between the bore and the chamber, a longer chamber that is at least 1.5 inches, and a deeper baffle at the point where the bore and baffle meet. These innovations create improved ergonomics for the player's comfort, more depth of sound, better response, and more stability, for instrumentalists of all levels.
B. Description of the Prior Art
The clarinet, invented in the early 1700's is a member of the woodwind family of instruments that along with the saxophone and in some cases the oboe and bassoon use a mouthpiece and reed for its source of vibration. The mouthpiece has a window, facing, sound baffle, chamber, and a bore, and it can easily be mounted to the body of its instrument or removed when necessary. A single flat cane or synthetic reed is clamped to the mouthpiece facing that is over the sound baffle and opening. The reed subsequently vibrates when a player blows into the top portion of the mouthpiece.
In an attempt to improve playability such as intonation, tone, and response, since their origination, there have been numerous modifications made not only to clarinets and all other single reed instruments, but also to their mouthpieces. Today, there remain structural differences between clarinets depending on country of origin. For instance, the bores associated with mouthpieces and clarinets designed and produced for the German school of playing are generally larger in dimension than instrument and mouthpiece bores of the French school of playing. These differences in bore size and key configuration attributed to the French-Boehm and German-Ohler systems also require mouthpieces that are made with slightly different bore sizes and internal details, and the change in physical characteristics of the clarinet body or mouthpiece results in a change in the tonal quality and playing techniques associated with each instrument.
So in an ongoing pursuit for a better playing experience, music instrument technicians continue their efforts to improve mouthpieces by changing various physical characteristics to make them more comfortable for a player to use, and help a player produce a better tone. The numerous components of mouthpiece design, that when altered create meaningful change in a musician's playing experience include the bore, chamber, baffle, throat, rails, window, and facing. The bore, is the tube that connects into the clarinet and can be altered by both width and length, but must balance with the chamber volume to maintain the correct total volume for ideal intonational characteristics. The chamber must be of the correct volume for pitch, but it can vary in shape as the sidewalls can be tilted to create an “A-frame” shape or they can be parallel. If the sidewalls are narrower, the tone is more concentrated whereas a wider throat and greater “A-frame” angle creates a broader tone, and less resistance. The floor of the chamber is also known as the baffle. When the baffle is deeper the sound becomes softer and when the baffle is higher, especially near the tip, the sound becomes brighter. The baffle shape also influences the speed of resonance and response. The window can vary in length and width, but when made too wide, the tone becomes more diffused and lacks core, whereas a window that is too narrow can create a tight, resistant feel that is resistant to the air. The facing has two components; the table and the curve. The curve, although not easily visible to the eye is the part of the mouthpiece that the reed vibrates against, and it curves downwardly toward the tip of the mouthpiece. Altering the gap and creating different tip openings and or types of curve (elliptical, radial) have important influence over all elements of the playing experience. The table is the part of the mouthpiece that the reed is fastened to, and it is best produced with either a flat or concave surface. All of these components influence one another and their correct balance is important in influencing a musicians sound, response, pitch, or overall playing experience.
A further parameter that has an important effect on the sound from a clarinet is the playing posture of the player, i.e., the angle at which the instrument is held. Clarinet teachers around the world instruct their students to hold the clarinet closer to their body as opposed to a more horizontal trumpet-like playing posture that has been adapted by jazz clarinetists (such as the late Benny Goodman) who often play with the clarinet oriented outward towards a more horizontal alignment. However the existing clarinet mouthpieces are shaped such that they do not promote an optimal posture and, hence, the sound produced by the clarinet is not as good as it could be.